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His father, British envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to the state of Columbia, was the fourth son of Sir James Cockburn, 8th baronet , his three uncles having died without heirs. His mother was Yolande, daughter of the vicomte de Vignier.
He was educated at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, of which he was elected a fellow, and afterwards an honorary fellow. He entered at the Middle Temple in 1825, and was called to the bar in 1829. Three years afterward, the Reform Bill was passed, and in 1833 Cockburn and MC Rowe published a parliamentary brief on the decisions of election committees.
In 1834 Cockburn was made a member of the commission to inquire into the state of the corporations of England and Wales. Other parliamentary work followed, and in 1841 he was made a Q.C..
In 1847 he decided to stand for parliament, and was elected unopposed as Liberal M.P.A Member of Parliament or MP is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to a parliament; in the Westminster system, specifically to the lower house. Australia In Australia, the term Member of Parliament refers specifically to a mem for SouthamptonThis page discusses the English city of Southampton. For other places named Southampton, see Southampton (disambiguation). Southampton is a city and major port situated on the south coast of England. It is the closest city to the New Forest and lies at th. His speech in the House of CommonsThe House of Commons is a component of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also includes the Sovereign and the House of Lords. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 659 members, who are known as "Members of Parliamen on behalf of the government in the Don PacificoDon Pacifico became infamous in 1850 as the trigger of a notorious international incident. Pacifico was a Portuguese Jew who had been born in Gibraltar. It was this claim to British citizenship that was the cause of the incident. He had been living in Gre dispute with GreeceGreece formally called the Hellenic Republic (in Greek: ) Hellenike Demokratia , is a country in the southeast of Europe on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula. It is bounded on land by Bulgaria, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Albania commended him to Lord John RussellJohn Russell, 1st Earl Russell ( August 18, 1792 May 28, 1878), known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was a Whig politician who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. A younger son of the 6th Duke of Bedford, Russe, who appointed him solicitor-general in 1850 and Attorney GeneralHer Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales usually known as the Attorney General is the chief legal adviser of the Crown in England and Wales. He represents the Queen and the Government in court, and has supervisory powers over prosecutions, whi in 1851, a post which he held till the resignation of the ministry in February 1852.
In December 1852Events January 14 President Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte proclaims a new constitution for the French Second Republic. January 17 United Kingdom recognizes independence of the Transvaal Devil's Island penal colony opens February 11 First British public toilet, under Lord Aberdeen's ministry , Cockburn again became Attorney General, and remained so until 1856, taking part in many celebrated trials, such as the Hopwood Will Case in 1855, and the Swynfen Will Case.
In 1854 Cockburn was made Recorder of Bristol. In 1856, he became Chief Jstice of the Common Pleas. He inherited the baronetcy in 1858. In 1859, Lord Campbell became Lord Chancellor, and Cockburn became Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench, continuing as a judge for twenty-four years.
On November 20, 1880, he died of angina pectoris at his house in Hertford Street. As he never married and produced no heirs, the baronetcy became dormant upon his death.